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Article
Publication date: 10 February 2021

Mika Morishima, Koya Kishida and Miho Fukagawa

A facemask is used to cover the nose and mouth to protect a wearer's health in daily life. The authors’ long-term goal aimed to ensure more people with different physical…

Abstract

Purpose

A facemask is used to cover the nose and mouth to protect a wearer's health in daily life. The authors’ long-term goal aimed to ensure more people with different physical characteristics and different attitudes can wear a high performance and comfortable facemask. In the present paper, wearers were surveyed by a questionnaire. Additionally, a prototype improvement pattern with a fit performance was investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey of facemask wearers was conducted with local students and international students in Japan. A basic pattern with high fit performance was analyzed using a combination of triangles based on the measured three-dimensional coordinates of the head shape of a Japanese mannequin.

Findings

The aggregated survey data indicated that 85.0% of the Japanese female students, 77.2% of international female students, 70.8% of Japanese male students and 54.3% of international male students were facemask wearers. Wearers had problems related to their masks' thermal, hygroscopic and airflow properties. Japanese nonusers did not wear them due to dislike related to the problems above. International nonusers had no experience of wearing them. It was concerned that these discomfort factors influence fit performance and reduction of wearing effects. Therefore, the authors analyzed a sheet pattern with a high fit performance for a Japanese head mannequin.

Originality/value

These results will contribute in improving hygienic facemasks for people at the global level. The survey results and pattern analysis provide of necessary conditions of development of the mask with comfortable and high fit performance.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2022

Ian Phau, Olamide Akintimehin and Sean Lee

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of terminal and instrumental values on the attitude and brand desirability for upcycled luxury designer facemasks, in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of terminal and instrumental values on the attitude and brand desirability for upcycled luxury designer facemasks, in relation with generic luxury designer facemasks.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach was adopted in this study, and data were collected via an online consumer panel from 390 existing Australian luxury consumers, aged 18 and above. Stimuli that represented the two upcycling conditions (remnants and past collections) and a control condition (generic product) from an actual Burberry-branded facemask were designed for the study. The collected data were analysed using the least partial square and multi-group analysis of the structural equation model

Findings

The findings indicate that consumers do not perceive Burberry facemasks made from upcycled remnant materials and previous collections have superior aesthetic or self-expressive benefits to them when compared to the generic Burberry masks. In the same vein, both upcycled categories do not provide superior instrumental values through economic benefits or safety when compared to the generic Burberry masks. Hence, terminal and instrumental values had no influence on the attitude and brand desirability for upcycled luxury designer facemasks, in relation with generic luxury designer facemasks.

Practical implications

The results indicate that strategies will have to be better designed to have a balance between safety features (as opposed to fashion) and luxury desirability of the brand to better capture the market for difference consumer values for the facemasks. As this is a relatively low involvement product, the pricing strategies must be re-evaluated.

Originality/value

This study offers empirical support for the proposition that different upcycling methods in the name of sustainable practices may have different functions for different consumer values in luxury marketing implementations. For the choice of facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides empirical evidence for consumer choice for the different types and how it can be used to elevate luxury brand desirability.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2018

Carin Graminius and Jutta Haider

The purpose of this paper is to explore how information on air pollution is shaped online on an everyday basis, with a particular emphasis on digital devices and digital…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how information on air pollution is shaped online on an everyday basis, with a particular emphasis on digital devices and digital representations as constitutive of environmental information practices. Furthermore, this research highlights an understudied aspect of air pollution – the digital flow of multimodal representations that citizens encounter and produce in their everyday life.

Design/methodology/approach

The information gathering was carried out on an everyday basis during February-March 2017. The study is based on 403 microblog posts from the social media site Sina Weibo, and netnographic fieldwork, including the observation of news, advertisements, and diary writing. The collected data were mapped in clusters based on the interrelations of objects, agents, and activities, and analyzed in depth using qualitative multimodal analysis.

Findings

Information enacted through specific socio-materialist configurations depicts air pollution as self-contained and separated from human action. Air quality apps are central in connecting a wider nexus of representations and promoting such perceptions, illustrating the role of digital devices in an everyday information context.

Social implications

The study reveals a schism between Chinese political environmental visions and everyday environmental information practices, which raises questions of how the battle against air pollution can be sustained in the long term.

Originality/value

This study suggests that digital material aspects – inbuilt applications of digital devices and digital representations of objects – are interrelated with physical experiences of air pollution, and thus constitute elements of practice in their own right.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 74 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2020

Pui Yan Flora Lau

Focussing on the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, when the infection rate was relatively low, this paper aims to explore the role of social capital in fighting…

1286

Abstract

Purpose

Focussing on the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, when the infection rate was relatively low, this paper aims to explore the role of social capital in fighting the novel coronavirus.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a discussion paper that draws evidence from current scholarly literature and other commentaries, government policies and the personal observation of the author. The main conceptual tool used in the study is Szreter and Woolcock (2004) three-dimensional framework of social capital.

Findings

This paper suggests that whilst the experience of fighting SARS as early as 2003 equipped Hong Kong people with adequate knowledge of virus prevention, efforts to control COVID-19 also benefited from social capital developed during the prolonged social protest since 2019. People belonging to the pro-democracy camp took the initiative to deliver facemasks and advocate hygiene measures in Hong Kong, demonstrating strong community mobilisation. This led to the emergence of bonding and bridging social capital (but not linking social capital) in local society, based substantially on similarity in political orientation.

Originality/value

The use of Szreter and Woolcock (2004) three-dimensional framework for examining social capital provides a new perspective on the contribution of social network analysis to coronavirus protective measures.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 40 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2021

Amirhossein Asfia, James I. Novak, Bernard Rolfe and Tomas Kron

Radiotherapy relies on the delivery of radiation to cancer cells with millimetre accuracy, and immobilisation of patients is essential to minimise unwanted damage to surrounding…

Abstract

Purpose

Radiotherapy relies on the delivery of radiation to cancer cells with millimetre accuracy, and immobilisation of patients is essential to minimise unwanted damage to surrounding healthy cells due to patient movement. Traditional thermoformed face masks can be uncomfortable and stressful for patients and may not be accurately fitted. The purpose of this study was to use 3D scanning and additive manufacturing to digitise this workflow and improve patient comfort and treatment outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The head of a volunteer was scanned using an Artec Leo optical scanner (Artec, Luxembourg) and ANSYS (Ansys, Canonsburg, USA) software was used to make two 3D models of the mask: one with a nose bridge and one open as would be used with optical surface guidance. Data based on measurements from ten pressure sensors around the face was used to perform topology optimisation, with the best designs 3D printed using fused deposition modelling (FDM) and tested on the volunteer with embedded pressure sensors.

Findings

The two facemasks proved to be significantly different in terms of restricting head movement inside the masks. The optimised mask with a nose bridge effectively restricted head movement in roll and yaw orientations and exhibited minimal deformation as compared to the open mask design and the thermoformed mask.

Originality/value

The proposed workflow allows customisation of masks for radiotherapy immobilisation using additive manufacturing and topology optimisation based on collected pressure sensor data. In the future, sensors could be embedded in masks to provide real-time feedback to clinicians during treatment.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 April 2021

Tran Hung Nguyen and Xuan Cu Le

Although crisis communication via social media has engaged academia's attention during the disease outbreak, information value for preventive behaviors is inadequately studied…

1149

Abstract

Purpose

Although crisis communication via social media has engaged academia's attention during the disease outbreak, information value for preventive behaviors is inadequately studied. The purpose of this paper is to cast light on how to strengthen the uptake of older people's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) behavioral outcomes due to information value and perceived threat through social media.

Design/methodology/approach

This study designs a survey and applies structural equation modeling to examine a research framework. A sample comprises 334 Vietnamese older participants who have utilized social media.

Findings

The results illustrate that preventive behaviors are determined by perceived threat (i.e. severity and susceptibility). Furthermore, older people heighten risk perceptions based on information characteristics, including information relevance, informative support and source credibility. Lastly, information relevance is a strong predictor of source credibility.

Practical implications

The findings assist practitioners to enhance crisis communication effectiveness via social media by imparting valuable information to the public. Moreover, this paper offers overarching guidelines on the improvement in credibility with creators, risk consciousness and preventive behaviors.

Originality/value

Although earlier studies focused attentiveness on the power of social media for raising threat perceptions, this work seems the first to unveil informative motives for perceived COVID-19 threat across older individuals, which subsequently presents plausible reasons for behavioral disclosure, including facemask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 May 2021

Casey Burkholder, Katie MacEntee, April Mandrona, Amelia Thorpe and Pride/Swell Pride/Swell

The authors explore the coproduction of a digital archive with 50 2SLGBTQ+ youth across Atlantic Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to catalyze broader public…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors explore the coproduction of a digital archive with 50 2SLGBTQ+ youth across Atlantic Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to catalyze broader public participation in understanding 2SLGBTQ+ youth-led activism in this place and time through art production.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a mail-based participatory visual research project and an examination of collage, zines and DIY facemasks, the authors highlight how the production, sharing and archiving of youth-produced art adds to methodological discussions of exhibiting and digital archiving with 2SLGBTQ+ youth as a form of activist intervention.

Findings

In reflexively examining the cocuration of art through social media and project website, the authors argue that coproducing digital archives is an important part of knowledge mobilization. Also, the authors consider how the work has been interacted with by a broader public, so far in an exclusively celebratory manner and note the benefits and challenges of this type of engagement to the youth and to the understandings of 2SLGBTQ+ youth archives.

Originality/value

The authors suggest that these modes of engaging in participatory visual research at a distance offer original contributions in relation to how participation can be understood in a digital and mail-based project. The authors see participant control of how to share works within digital archives as a contribution to the understanding of people's capacity to negotiate and take ownership of these spaces. These strategies are participant-centered and suggest ways that archiving can be made more accessible, especially when working with communities who are socially marginalized or otherwise excluded from the archival process.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2021

Oluwole Owoye and Olugbenga A. Onafowora

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine whether the massive spreads and fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, the country with the most advanced medical…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine whether the massive spreads and fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, the country with the most advanced medical technology in the world, are symptomatic of leadership failure. The authors posit that when political leaders, such as the President of the USA, in conjunction with a group of state governors and city mayors, employed conspiracy theories and disinformation to achieve their political goals, they contributed to the massive spreads and fatalities of the virus, and they also undermined the credibility of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the health-care professionals in providing the pertinent control guidelines and true scientific-based medical information.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a review of current studies that address the handling of global infectious diseases to build a better understanding of the issue of pandemics. They then employed a theoretical framework to link the massive spreads and fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic to political leaders, such as President Trump and the group of obsequious state governors and city mayors, who propagated conspiracy theories and disinformation through social media platforms to downplay the severity of the virus. The authors compared the massive spreads and fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA under President Trump to President Obama who handled H1N1, Ebola, Zika and Dengue. More importantly, the authors compared President Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to other political leaders in advanced countries where there were no concerted efforts to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation about the health risks of COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings

The authors' theoretical analysis alluded to the fact that political leaders, such as President Trump, who are engulfed in self-deceptions, self-projections and self-aggrandizements would engage in self-promotion and avoid accountability for their missteps in handling global pandemic shocks. In contrast, political leaders in other advanced countries did not downplay the severity thus their ability to curtail the spreads and fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The theoretical viewpoints presented in this paper along with the derivations of the spreads–fatalities curtailment coefficients and the spread–fatality upsurge coefficients under Presidents Obama and Trump, respectively, may not be replicable. Given this plausible limitation, future research may need to provide a deep analysis of the amplifications of conspiracy theories and disinformation because they are now deeply rooted in the political economy of the USA. Furthermore, since scientists and medical professionals may not be able to forecast future epidemics or pandemics with pin-point accuracy nor predict how political leaders would disseminate health risks information associated with different pathogens, it is imperative that future research addresses the positive or adverse effects of conspiracy theories and disinformation that are now easily propagated simultaneously through different social media platforms, which are currently protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The multiplier effects of conspiracy theories and disinformation will continue to amplify the division about the authenticity of COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence or reemergence of other pathogens in the foreseeable future.

Originality/value

The authors derived the unique spreads-fatalities curtailment coefficients to demonstrate how President Obama used effective collaboration and coordination at all levels of government in conjunction with medical experts to curtail the spreads and fatalities associated with H1N1, Ebola, Zika and Dengue. They further derived the spreads-fatalities upsurge coefficients to highlight how President Trump contributed to the spreads and fatalities of COVID-19 pandemic through his inability to collaborate and coordinate with state governors, city mayors and different health-care agencies at the national and international levels.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

Keywords

Expert briefing
Publication date: 26 May 2020

The Czech response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

Bal Sanghera, Satyajit Naique, Yannis Papaharilaou and Andrew Amis

Rapid prototype models are directly integrated into non‐engineering applications such as medicine. Medical models are used to plan complex procedures prior to surgery with…

2802

Abstract

Rapid prototype models are directly integrated into non‐engineering applications such as medicine. Medical models are used to plan complex procedures prior to surgery with potential to optimise patient treatment in the operating theatre. This paper presents results following a 12 month National Health Service Executive research project to assess the feasibility of using rapid prototype medical models. A total of 16 medical models were created. Nine anatomical sites were reconstructed from patient data acquired from five London hospitals. The purpose of the models is described and the commissioning surgeons as part of a questionnaire assessed their usefulness. Future developments are discussed and conclusions about the use of medical models are made.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 7 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

1 – 10 of 281